Spool thread assembly



April 27, 1943. c. HUBER SPOOL THREAD ASSEMBLY 7 Filed Dec. 5, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 27, 1943; c. HUBER sPo'oL THREAD ASSEMBLY Filed Dec. 5, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Apr. 27, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE :SSEMBLY Charlotte Huber, New York, N. Y. Application December 5, 1940, Serial No. 368,636

3 Claims.

The invention relates to a container for sewing accessories and other articles.

Thecontainer is formed of an assembly of unit sections of simple and inexpensive construction, which may be combined in various ways to produce pleasing and artistic effects in shapes and sizes or the sections may be used individually, as the main advantages of the invention are present in the unit itself and are not dependent upon its association with other units.

A unit section, reduced to its simplest form, consists of two spools of thread, arrangedside by side and joined at the ends by bridging mem bers, between which the spools are secured thus assembled and separately rotatable, bysuitable fasteners, which extend through the spools and the bridging members and have their ends shaped to serve as thread cutters.

An important feature of the invention consists in forming the outer wall of the container of an assembly of these unit sections, which may be employed in any number and arrangement to give the container the desired shape and size, the spool sections being disposed side by side to develop the required length of the wall and end to end, one above the other in tiers, to develop the height thereof. Such an outer wall formation, in exposing the thread of the entire spool assembly, enables a selection to be instantly made without loss of time.

A second feature of the invention consists in mounting the spools so they may be separately turned to bring the end of the thread, which is ordinarily caught in a slit of the spool, within convenient reach to be grasped from the outside of the container and a length of thread drawn from the spool.

A third feature consists in securing the spools so they may be individually removed when empty and replaced by new spools of thread, without disturbing the other spools of the assembly.

A fourth feature consists in providing a thread cutter for each spool, by utilizing for that pur pose the shaped ends of the fasteners employed to rotatably and removably secure the spools in assembled relation.

And a fifth feature consists in employing one or more closures of transparent material for the walled-in space within the container to expose and enable the contents to be seen at a glance.

Other features of merit will be brought-to attention in the following detailed descriptionlof the several embodiments of the invention shown in the accompanying drawings,

In the drawingsmaterial in which slits 5, 5 are formed Fig. 1 illustrates the adaptability for individual use, of the unit sections employed in the formation of the containers shown in Figs. '7 to 11, inclusive.

Fig. 2 is an exploded view showing the parts in separated relation that form the unit' section.

Fig. 3 shows the unit section partly assembled.

Fig. 4' shows the assembly nearly completed.

Fig. 5 shows a, double fastener employed for each spool, with: the ends bent over as in use.

Fig. 6 shows. one member of the fastener as formed for insertion, to secure the assembled parts.

Fig. '7 is a perspective View of a container of oval shape in outline, formed of sections similar to that shown in Figs. 1 to 6 inclusive, with the bridging members extended to include the entire spool assembly.

Fig. 8 is a like view of a floral effect, in which two containers are shown in the form of flowers and the spool wall formation is extended as a branched stem of the flowers.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a. heartshaped container formed of a tiered assembly of spools.

Fig. 10 shows a container to which an ornamental effect is given by using a cut-out picture of a doll as one of the bridging members.

Fig. 11 shows a container in the form of a house with a hinged door giving access to the interior and a drawer of transparent material suitable for containing small articles.

Fig. 12 is a detail view of one of the hinges for the door shown in Fig. 11.

Referring .now to the drawings, the unit section used in forming the containers is shown in Figs. 4 to 9, inclusive and consists, in its simplest form, of two spools l, l bridging members, 2, 2 at opposite ends of the spools and strip fasteners 3, 3 inserted through the spools and the bridging members, the projecting ends 4, 4 of the fasteners being bent down on the members 2, 2 to secure the parts in assembled relation, withthe spools separately rotatable about the fasteners.

The spools are of the ordinary form such as are obtainable in the open market and, as purchased, the outer end of the thread thereon is caught and held in an edge notch or slit at the upper end of the spool, as here used, to prevent the thread from unwinding.

The bridging members serve to connect the spools and for this purpose are made of thin strip for the passage of the fasteners 3, 3, The upper bridging through a spool and the slits in the bridging,

members, as shown at the right hand side of Fig. 4, have their projecting ends bent down in opposite directions on the members, as shown at the left hand side of the same figure. The bent down ends of the strips are rounded to give them a finished appearance and, in addition to serving as thread cutters, they also serve to hold the end of the thread, after the first length is drawn from the spool and cut off, as shown in Fig. 1.

In the formation of containers, such as are shown in Figs. 7 to 11, inclusive, from the unit sections, the bridging members are extended to include and join the entire spool assembly, otherwise the unit construction is as above described.

In the container formation, the unit sections are arranged with the spools side by side, to develop the required length of the outer wall and when greater depth than a spool length is desired, the sections are assembled in tiers, as in Fig. 9 and fasteners are employed of sufiicient length to reach from the lower bridging mem-. ber, through the spools, to the upper bridging member, as shown.

Access to the interior of the container is provided by way of one or more openings 6 in the upper bridging member, as best shown in Figs. 7 and 9. Such openings may be made any size desired by varying the width of the member or otherwise forming it. In the container shown in Fig. 11, access to the interior is provided by hinging a portion I of the outer wall, which may be opened and closed at will. For this purpose, hinges 8 of the type shown in Fig. 12, are employed of a length sufiicient to carry several spools.

As each spool is secured between the bridging members independently of the other spools of the assembly, an empty spool may be removed and replaced by a new spool of thread without disturbing the others, by bending up the ends and withdrawing the fastener to release the empty spool and after placing a new spool in position, reinserting'the fastener and securing it by bending the ends down again.

The containers may be given ornamental color effects, if desired, by the use of spool blanks of brightly colored plastic or other material, which may be substituted at various points in the container wall for spools of thread or otherwise used to build up the body of the container. The use of such spool blanks is indicated at 9, in Fig. 11, where they are employed in the two tiers forming the outer wall of the house.

It will be evident from Figs. 7 to 11, inclusive, that as the outline form and depth of the container may be varied without limit, any desired shape and size may be produced, without departing from the construction above described.

As the many important advantages of the invention have been set forth in the foregoing description, it will not be necessary to describe them at greater length.

Having described my invention, I claim: a

1. A container for sewing accessories and other articles, comprising an outer wall formation of spools separately rotatable to permit thread to be drawn from individual spools from outside of the container, bridging members at opposite ends of the spools, and fasteners extending through the spools and bridging members and connecting them in assembled relation, the ends of the fasteners projecting beyond the bridging members being shaped to secure the fasteners in position and prevent endwise movement thereof, said fasteners being formed of metal strips that pass through closely fitting openings in the bridging members that connect the spools and have their projecting ends shaped and bent down upon the bridging members to provide a thread cutter for each spool of thread and a holder for the cut end of the thread.

2. A unit assembly comprising a plurality of spools of thread, bridging members connecting the spools at opposite ends thereof, and fasteners formed of strip material extending through the spools ,and through openings of the bridging members, the said fasteners having their ends bent over to secure the spools free to rotate between said members, said spools being separateiy removable without disturbing the assembly by straightening one of the bent over ends of the fastener of .the spool to be removed and withdrawing the fastener to free the spool.

3. A unit assembly, as defined in claim 2, in which the bridging members are separate and independent of each other.

CHARLOTTE HUBER. 

